niagara falls ontario

Niagara Falls to be illuminated in orange in honour of residential school victims

Niagara Falls will light up in orange tonight in honour of the 751 unmarked graves discovered at the site of a former residential school earlier this week.  

The Niagara Falls Illumination Board will be illuminating both the Canadian Horseshoe and American Falls on Friday night, from 10:15 to 11:15 p.m., following the tragic discovery at the Marieval residential school in Saskatchewan.

The falls were previously illuminated in orange on May 30 in memory of the 215 Indigenous children discovered in a mass grave at a former residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia.

"With the possibility that more of these tragic discoveries may occur in the weeks and months ahead, the Niagara Falls Illumination Board is exploring options to best recognize and honour the victims moving forward," says the board.

Meanwhile, in Toronto, the CN Tower will also light up in orange on July 1 in solidarity with Indigenous communities in mourning across Canada.

This comes amid growing calls for Canada Day celebrations to be cancelled altogether in light of these horrific discoveries and for July 1 to instead serve as a day to reflect on the shameful history of the residential school system.

Lead photo by

Niagara Parks


Latest Videos



Latest Videos


Join the conversation Load comments

Latest in Travel

Airlines in Canada offering Black Friday sales and some flights are under $99

20 family-friendly day trips from Toronto to take before the cold weather arrives

Canadians can now cash in on $12.5 million WestJet baggage fee settlement

Here's the problem with Canadian airline Flair's new on-time guarantee

Woman says she was harassed by WestJet crew on Canadian flight

Canada is ending its automatic 10-year multiple-entry visa policy

Canada warns to avoid travel to popular spots in Cuba

Here's what the expansion of Toronto's Billy Bishop Airport will look like